Violin-body



W. J. LUCAS.

VIOLIN BODY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. M 1920.

1,386, 183. Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

REL)? 1 3d? 4 F Q5 5 8 INVENTOR.

8 Wdliarn rILLwms A TTORNEY drawn strings,

PATENT OFFICE.

p j WIILLIAE J. Lucas, orrzansno, CALIFORNIA.

' VIOLIN-BODY.

T whomidt may-concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. LUCAS, a

citizen of the United States, residing, at Fresno, in the county ofFresno, State of California, have invented certainpnew and useful Improvements in Violin-Bodies; and

I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact. description of thesame, referen'ce being'had to the'accompanying drawings, and to the charactersf of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this application. j 1 I his invention relates to improvements-in the construction of violins, cellos and the like, and particularly to the body portionthereof. 7

The principalob'ectiof the invention is ,to so fashion; the. ody, that it will have great strength, particularly lengthwise, to resist the crushing effect of the mtightly Another object to fashion the interior of the. body in such aumanner as to present a contour of unbroken lines and curves throughout, and in doing this I purposelyemploy the" same kind of wood for all interior surfaces.

'A third object is to construct the sides of the body relative to the belly andback, so, that relatively largeloverla ping surfaceswill behad between the si es and the bellyand back members, which provides greater area for gluing,.and inx.itself :in-

sures .a body of greater strength and ri- A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive body construction, and yet one which willbe exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of.

such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specificatlon and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is aplan view of the body, with the belly removed.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross section taken on a line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3. is a similar view taken on aline 7 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation showing the tail-block of the body.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

. pose of ornamentation.

,or angles. The belly and back Patented Ange, 19 21.

Application-filed March 8, 1920. Serial m. 364,031.

F1g. 5' is a cross section taken on line Referring now more particularlvto the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the sides of the bodv, formed of single strips of thin wood, preferably maple or some similar hardwood. These pieces together are bent to inclose a suitably shaped area, whichincludes outwardly prO ecting and sharp-pointed corners 2, such as are usually provided on instruments of this character for the pur- The strips 1 are matched together and oined at these corners so that to all intentsand purposes the sides 1 present an unibrcpken outline, except as hereinafter no e ,The interior of the corners 2 are filled wlth blocks 3 of the same material. as the sides, theinner edges of these blocks forming unbroken curves with the inner surface of the sides'l, as shown at 4:, and the grain runnmg lengthwise of the body.

At the top and bottom of the sides, flush with the edges and on the inside thereof,

are edging or lining strips 5. These'linings are substantially of right-angled triangular cross Section, but the hypotenuse or inner side is curved concavely,as at 6,"

so that they blend with the belly 7 and back Sand also, with the sides, when the body is assembled, and thus present no sharp bends pieces? and 8 are held in place on the sldes by gluing the same together, and are held from shifting durlng the setting of the glue by means of short dowel pins 9 set in the blocks 3 and elsewhere, which pins are positioned to roject into recesses in the belly and back along the line of an exterior ridge or beading 10 formed integral therewith, and following the periphery thereof.

At the upper end of the body and inside the side strips 1 and glued thereto is a reinforcement 11 of maple or Whatever wood is used for the sides, extending a suitable distance transversely of the body and being. flush with the top and bottom edges of the sides.

The ends of this strip are finished to present unbroken curves with the sides therebeyond, as at 12, the lining strips 5 following the inner edge of the strip 11.

A bevel edge socket 13 is cut into the strip 1 and the piece 11 centrally thereof, to receive the neck of the instrument.

At the lower end of the body central thereof and next the side strip 1 inside the same is a thin hardwood block 1i, set with the grain running transversely, then a similar block 15 with the grain set vertically, and then a strip 16 laid against that and ex tending to the side strip 1. the grain running lengthwise and forming an unbroken curve therewith as at 17. The linings follow the inner line of this strip 16. The members 1 and 16 particularly are of the same wood.

A tailblock 18 of ebony or similar very hard and duable wood is set into the outside strip 1 and the adjacent block 14, being provided with an orifice 19 to receive the pin to which the ends of the instrument strings are secured, and the grain thereof running vertically.

The various thicknesses of wood are firmly glued together, thus forming a rigid and reinforced structure able to resist the strain put on the body by the tension of the strings, which tension is longitudinally of the body from the neck to the pin fitting in the tail-block.

In the spaces between the inner strip 16 and the side strip 1 on each side of the blocks 14 and are pieces 20 of any kind of soft wood, these being merely tillers to prevent any drops of glue from dropping therein and rattling should they become detached after solidifying.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a structure as substantially fulfils the object of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the structure still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A body' for violins and the like comprising sides, back and belly pieces, the sides projecting outwardly at intervals to form corners, blocks filling said corners, reinforcements at the upper and lower ends of the sides, and continuous edging strips filling the corners formed at the junction of the sides, blocks and reinforcements with the back and belly.

2. A body for violins and the like comprising relatively thin sides, triangular edgings following the interior contour of the sides and flush with the top and bottom edges thereof the edgings being considerably wider than the thickness of the sides, whereby relatively large gluing area is-had for the securing of the belly and back members of the body, and dowel pins projecting outwardly from the sides into recesses in the belly and back for positively alining the parts and preventing displacement.

3. A body for violins and the like comprising sides, back and belly pieces, the sides projecting outwardly at intervals to form corners, blocks filling said corners, reinforcements at the upper and lower ends of the sides, and continuous edging strips fillin the corners formed at the junction of the sides, blocks and reinforcements with the back and belly, the interior surfaces of all the component parts being of the :same

wood.

4. A body for violins and the like comprising relatively thin sides provided with corners, blocks filling the corners, and dowel pins fixed in the blocks projecting into recesses formed in the belly and back members of the body.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM J. LUCAS. 

